Monday, December 17, 2018

Charlesbridge Unplugged #18: Hillary Homzie

For our last podcast of the year we are talking to Hillary Homzie about her new early reader series Ellie May, illustrated by Jeffrey Ebbeler. Two of the Ellie May books publish tomorrow, Ellie May on Presidents' Day and Ellie May on April Fools' Day, so get a head start by listening to her talk about them! You can have a listen by clicking HERE or clicking play below:

Monday, December 3, 2018

Monday, November 19, 2018

Charlesbridge Unplugged #16: Middle Grade Panel

Today we're talking to two of our esteemed middle grade authors, as well as one of our middle grade editors! Joining us today are Ellen Wittlinger (Someone Else's Shoes) and HP Wood (Fakers: An Insider's Guide to Cons, Hoaxes, and Scams, illustrated by David Clark) as well as Editor Julie Bliven. You can have a listen by clicking HERE or clicking play below:

Tuesday, November 6, 2018

Catching Up With Jeffrey Ebbeler

We caught up with illustrator Jeffrey Ebbeler to get a sense of how he tailors his illustrations to his many (many!) different Charlesbridge projects, including the Ellie May series and Captain's Log: Snowbound, all of which publish this year! 




Monday, November 5, 2018

Charlesbridge Unplugged #15: Erin Dionne

Today we're talking to debut picture book author (but seasoned novelist!) Erin Dionne about her Captain's Log: Snowbound (illustrated by Jeffrey Ebbeler) and the hilarious story about how it came to be! You can have a listen by clicking HERE or clicking play below:

Monday, October 22, 2018

Charlesbridge Unplugged #14: Young Adult Panel

Today we're talking to not one author but THREE about their young adult books for our teen imprint CharlesbridgeTEEN. We're excited to have Tracy Barrett (Freefall Summer), Marit Weisenberg (Select Few), and Caitlin Seal (Twice Dead) in discussion with each other and Executive Editor Monica Perez. You can have a listen by clicking HERE or clicking play below:

Monday, October 8, 2018

Charlesbridge Unplugged #13: Carrie A Pearson

Today we're in conversation with author Carrie Pearson about her picture book Stretch to the Sun: From a Tiny Sprout to the Tallest Tree on Earth and how she came to write about the tallest tree in the world. You can have a listen by clicking HERE or clicking play below:

Tuesday, September 18, 2018

From Trivia to Timeless with Heather L. Montgomery

Author Heather L. Montgomery (known in some circles as the Queen of Yucky Science) talks about her inspiration for Bugs Don't Hug: Six-Legged Parents and Their Kids and how relating insects to humans was the key to making the book accessible for readers of all ages.



photo by Sonya Sones

Monday, September 17, 2018

Charlesbridge Unplugged #12: Kevin O'Malley and Patrick O'Brien

Today is a special treat because we're talking to author Kevin O'Malley and illustrator Patrick O'Brien about their Captain Raptor series! Charlesbridge was lucky enough to publish the latest book in the series, Captain Raptor and the Perilous Planet, and you can listen to our conversation with Kevin and Patrick by clicking HERE or clicking play below:

Tuesday, September 4, 2018

Savoring the trials and triumphs of babyhood with Nancy Raines Day

Baby's Firsts author Nancy Raines Day stops by to write about  savoring every moment of your baby's childhood, from the first spit-up to the first roll!



photo credit Shelly Morgan

Monday, September 3, 2018

Charlesbridge Unplugged #11: Traci Sorell

On the podcast today we have debut author Traci Sorell, whose book We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga takes a look at how the Native Americans of the Cherokee Nation celebrates gratitude every day. You can have a listen by clicking HERE or clicking play below:

Monday, August 13, 2018

Charlesbridge Unplugged #10: Nancy Bo Flood and Jonathan Nelson

We're excited to have author Nancy Bo Flood and illustrator Jonathan Nelson on the podcast today talking about their first book together First Laugh—Welcome, Baby! and how they both brought different perspectives to the table to make this book feel timeless and universal. You can have a listen by clicking HERE:

Monday, July 23, 2018

Start Me Up: Debut Authors & Illustrators at Charlesbridge

Associate editor Karen Boss talks about the importance of working with debut authors and illustrators and reveals some of the debuts from Charlesbridge she's most excited to share with readers

Working with debut authors and illustrators has been a core part of Charlesbridge’s trade program since it began almost thirty years ago. We believe it’s important to find new talent with stories to share and to get those books into the market and into kids’ hands. As publishing has changed over the years, access to editors and publishers has narrowed. At the same time, the number of people who want to write for kids has grown exponentially, and new authors and illustrators have often found it challenging to break in. Over time, Charlesbridge editors have remained dedicated to helping launch author careers, and our design team often focuses on offering opportunities to illustrators new to children’s books. Here are some recent debut creators who we just love. Check out their books!



Monday, July 16, 2018

Charlesbridge #9: Christina Matula

Today debut author Christina Matula joins us on the podcast to talk about her book The Shadow in the Moon: A Tale of the Mid-Autumn Festival (illustrated by Pearl Law) and how she went from wanting to tell her children a traditional folktale to telling the world about the Mid-Autumn Festival. You can have a listen by clicking HERE:

Wednesday, July 11, 2018

Monday, July 2, 2018

Cover Design Process: FREEFALL SUMMER

Today we're staying in-house to talk to book designer Sarah Richards Taylor about the first young adult book she designed for us, Freefall Summer!



Monday, June 4, 2018

Charlesbridge Unplugged #7: Ruth Spiro

Today we're excited to welcome seasoned Baby Loves Science author Ruth Spiro onto the podcast! She talks about books five and six in the series and what she has coming up next! You can have a listen by clicking HERE:

Monday, May 28, 2018

Poppy's Best Drawings, or How Poppy Came to Life!

Illustrator Rosalinde Bonnet has been illustrating the whimsical world of Poppy for a few years now, so with the release of Poppy's Best Babies last week, we convinced Rosalinde to stop by and talk about her process!

Image result for rosalinde bonnet

Monday, May 7, 2018

Charlesbridge Unplugged #5: Steve Jenkins

Today we're very excited to have Caldecott Honor recipient Steve Jenkins on the podcast! He's talking about his first book with Charlesbridge, A House in the Sky, and Other Uncommon Animal Homes, illustrated by Robbin Gourley. You can have a listen by clicking HERE:

Monday, April 2, 2018

Charlesbridge Unplugged #4: David Biedrzycki

Today we're talking to expert and seasoned Charlesrbidge author David Biedrzycki about the newest book in his Breaking News Bears series, Alien Alert. You can have a listen by clicking HERE:

Wednesday, March 28, 2018

Cars on the Carpet

Experienced nonfiction author Jan Adkins discusses going from playing with cars on the carpet to drawing cars on the page, and why he chose to write about Bertha Benz.

KIDS WILL ALWAYS PLAY CARS ON THE CARPET, driving along the woven patterns like streets, traveling to mystic places carrying amazing people. When I wrote Bertha Takes a Drive, about the very first car trip, I could see it all in my mind, as if I were pushing a tiny tin version of the strange, three-wheeled Benz Motorwagen along a carpet woven with the map of Germany: out of Mannheim, across the Rhine River, south through Heidelburg to the Black Forest, toward Grandma Ringer’s house in Pforzheim. I was with them in my kid’s play-mind. Lucky grownups don’t lose that ability to shift between the “real world” (whatever that is) and the “what if” world.


Monday, March 12, 2018

Charlesbridge Unplugged #3: Tami Charles

Today we're talking to debut author Tami Charles about her semi-autobiographical book Like Vanessa and why it was so important for Tami to write a book for herself and others like her. You can have a listen by clicking HERE:

Monday, March 5, 2018

Getting to “I GET IT!”: Scaffolding in Nonfiction

Charlesbridge nonfiction editor Alyssa Mito Pusey talks about making complex ideas tangible to young readers. This article first appeared in two parts on Melissa Stewart's blog Celebrate Science on February 2 and 3, 2018.




The other day, my seven-year-old asked me what the Big Bang was. Inside, I panicked a little.

Explaining complex, abstract ideas to anyone is difficult. But it’s especially challenging when your audience is a child. Young children have limited prior knowledge, and they think very literally.

Monday, January 22, 2018

My Journey to Mars

Susan Lendroth, author of Hey-Ho, to Mars We'll Go!, illustrated by Bob Kolar, delves deep into her own fascination with space exploration and how it has affected her sense of imagination.


Monday, January 8, 2018

Charlesbridge Unplugged #1: Cynthia Grady

We are so excited to announce that we have started a podcast! Join us as we talk to our authors, illustrators, and editors about their recent Charlesbridge projects!

In our inaugural episode, Marketing Assistant Mel Schuit talks to nonfiction author Cynthia Grady about her newest book Write to Me: Letters from Japanese American Children to the Librarian They Left Behind, illustrated by Amiko Hirao. You can have a listen by clicking HERE.